Gohei P'oh
Gohei P'oh (Paper Ghost) Tiny Construct Hit Dice: 1d10+3 (8 hp) Initiative: +5 Speed: Fly 20 ft. (4 squares)(average) Armor Class: 17 (+5 Dex, +2 size), touch 17, flat-footed 12 Base Attack/Grapple: +0/+3 Attack: Slam +7 melee (1d6-1) Full Attack: Slam +7 melee (1d6-1) Space/Reach: 2½ ft./0 ft. Special Attacks: Attach, erase, suffocate Special Qualities: Alternate form, blindsense 20 ft., construct traits, darkvision 60 ft., hungry paper, low-light vision Saves: Fort +0, Ref +5, Will +0 Abilities: Str 8, Dex 20, Con –, Int 3, Wis 11, Cha 11 Skills: Listen +2, Spot +2 Feats: Ability Focus (breath drain), Weapon Finesse (B) Environment: Any Organization: Solitary Challenge Rating: 2 Treasure: None Alignment: Any evil (same as creator) Advancement: 3-6 HD (Tiny) Level Adjustment: — A single page of paper drifts around the room, as if caught in a breeze. But what should be a pleasant floating motion seems purposeful and malign. It pauses in front of you, and begins folding itself into a different shape... Gohei p'oh, also called paper ghosts, are minor spirits bound into a piece of paper that act as servitors and guards for evil arcane spellcasters. They will obey any simple command given them by their creator, fighting to the death if so instructed. Gohei p'oh are stupid beings who cannot understand any task more complex than guarding a room, delivering a message, or spending a night hiding in a room and then returning home. If ordered to do something beyond its limited mental powers, a gohei p'oh usually indicates its incomprehension and does nothing. Paper ghosts are weak warriors but make excellent spies and sentries, since they're easy to overlook when lying doggo in their default form - who heeds a stray piece of paper? These malevolent pieces of origami can fold themselves into difference forms to perform their duties; each form has its own powers. The most common forms are listed below. Some gohei p'oh may be able to assume different or additional forms. Gohei p'oh cannot speak, but can understand all the languages known to their creator. A typical gohei p'oh is about 11 inches by 14 inches in sheet form and nearly weightless. COMBAT A gohei p'oh will follow whatever combat tactics its creator orders it to perform. If simply told to "attack", a gohei p'oh usually uses the attack(s) of whatever form it happens to be in. Its default "sheet of paper" form attacks by trying to attach itself to an opponent's face and drain its breath. Gohei p'oh have enough self-determination to change form during a fight, if that would give it a tactical advantage (provided its orders allow it that flexibility). They prefer to change form when not in melee, since they're unable to fight when refolding themselves. Alternate Form (Su): A gohei p'oh can fold its body into a number of different forms. Changing to an alternate form is a full-round action. It can change forms at will, as often as it desires. Dove Form Speed: Fly 60 ft. (12 squares)(perfect) Attack: Paper-cut +7 melee (1d6-1) Full Attack: 2 paper-cuts +7 melee (1d6-1) Special Attacks: Erase Feats: Ability Focus (breath drain), Flyby Attack (B), Weapon Finesse (B) Pinwheel Form Speed: Fly 20 ft. (4 squares)(average) Attack: Airblast +7 ranged touch (1d4) Full Attack: Airblast +7 ranged touch (1d4) Special Attacks: Erase, airblast Feats: Ability Focus (breath drain), Hover (B), Weapon Finesse (B) Airblast (Su): When in pinwheel form, a gohei p'oh can attack with a scouring blast of wind, dealing 1d6 points of damage in a 10-foot line (Reflex DC 10 half). The save DC is Constitution-based. Box Form Speed: Fly 10 ft. (2 squares)(average) Attack: Swallow +7 touch (special) Full Attack: Swallow +7 touch (special) Special Attacks: Erase, swallow Feats: Ability Focus (breath drain), Weapon Finesse (B) Ethereal Swallow (Su): Once per day, a gohei p'oh in box form can attempt to "swallow" a single opponent (or an unattended object). The gohei p'oh needs to hit the target with a 5 ft. ranged touch attack. The target must succeed at a DC 10 Will save, or be pulled "inside the box" and transferred to the Ethereal Plane at a point contiguous with the gohei p'oh's location. Targets transferred to the Ethereal Plane remain there for 1d4+1 days, and then return to the Material Plane at their original location. Alternatively, a gohei p'oh can become ethereal by "swallowing itself" and turning inside out, the gohei p'oh can then "swallow itself" again to return to the Material Plane at its original location, but must remain on the Ethereal Plane for at least a day. The save DC is Charisma-based. Attach (Ex): If a gohei p'oh hits with its default form's slam attack, it automatically plasters itself over the opponent's face and begins to draining its victim's breath (see Breath Drain, below). An attached gohei p'oh is effectively grappling its opponent. The gohei p'oh loses its Dexterity bonus to AC and has an AC of 12, but holds on with great tenacity. gohei p'oh have a +12 racial bonus on grapple checks (already figured into the Base Attack/Grapple entry above). An attached gohei p'oh can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove an attached gohei p'oh through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the gohei p'oh. Breath Drain (Su): A gohei p'oh can drain life force by absorbing a victim's breath, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution damage in any round when it begins its turn attached to a victim (Fort DC 12 for half damage). The gohei p'oh can feed off this drained breath (See Feeding Dependency). The save DC is Charisma-based. Erase (Sp): A gohei p'oh can erase magical or mundane writings from a page or two of paper, parchment, or similar surfaces. This functions just like an erase spell (CL 3rd), except it has a range of 1 foot. Hungry Paper (Ex): Unlike standard constructs, gohei p'oh need to eat. A gohei p'oh feeds on writing or life-energy using its Erase and Breath Drain special attacks. A gohei p'oh can eat up to 4 days' worth of "food" before becoming sated; it needs 1 page of writing or 1 point of Constitution to sustain itself for 1 day. The gohei p'oh loses 1 hit point for every day it goes hungry. If it loses all its hit points the gohei p'oh is destroyed. A gohei p'oh can regain hit points lost due to starvation by extra feeding on a 1:1 ration (e.g. if it feeds on 3 pages or Con points it recovers 2 hp). A gohei p'oh can heal damage at the same rate as a living creature. A gohei p'oh cannot heal its injuries while it has hit points lost from starvation. The Heal skill has no effect on gohei p'oh, but a DC 15 Craft (origami) or Decipher Script check can provide long-term care to a damaged gohei p'oh, allowing it to recover from damage at twice the normal rate. CONSTRUCTION A gohei p'oh is created from a sheet of the finest parchment or silk paper. Pages from a book of evil lore are written upon this sheet in rare inks. The materials cost 100 gp. Creating this sheet of paper requires a DC 13 Craft (calligraphy) or a DC 13 Craft (papermaking) check. After the page of evil lore is prepared, it is animated through an extended magical ceremony that requires a specially prepared library or workroom, similar to an alchemist's laboratory and costing 500 gp to establish. If the creator is personally constructing the creature's body, the building and ceremony can be performed together. Up to four gohei p'oh can be created simultaneously as part of the same ceremony, simply combine the cost of materials. As the ceremony is performed the writing upon the sheet of paper slowly fades, disappearing entirely as the gohei p'oh is animated. A gohei p'oh with more than 2 Hit Dice can be created, but each additional Hit Die adds +2,000 gp to the cost to create. CL 5th; Craft Construct, blink, erase, gust of wind, caster must be evil and at least 5th level; Price — (never sold); Cost 2,100 gp + 156 XP. Originally appeared in Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix (1990). Category:Constructs